The present invention relates to cargo containers and trailers (collectively "containers"), such as the type typically having plural panel sidewalls and a wedge-shaped side profile.
Various forms of trailers and other such containers used to transport cargo are known. Such containers may be used for transporting cargo by any of the numerous means of transportation, such as ships, rail and road. Various governmental regulations cover the preferred dimensions and structural standards for such trailers and containers. For example, in the United States, highway trailer width is limited by applicable highway regulations.
Known cargo containers typically have a top wall, a bottom wall, and two side walls, together forming a more or less rectangular box. One type of known cargo container has a wedge-shaped profile having a rear height dimension (i.e. longitudinal dimension) that is greater than that of the front. While at least one type of cargo container has employed walls made of uniform sheets of metallic material, difficulties in assembly and repair of such units has resulted in a variety of designs in which a number of panels are combined in some way to form the side walls.
Considerations common to typical such multi-panel designs include resistance to stress and shear at the joints, strength to weight ratio, component cost, ease of assembly, ability to exclude water and debris from the interior of the container, and uniformity of the interior surface of the container side walls.
In one typical container construction, the side walls are constructed of a plurality of generally planer panels. The side panels are connected by riveting adjacent panels to a connector posed placed between the two panels. Various forms of joining members are known having various shapes, weights, dimensions and performance properties. One such side known side post is relatively light, but has a relatively low resistance to bending, or torsional or buckling stresses. Another known side post has a higher resistance to bending and torsional and buckling stresses, but is also relatively heavy.
Given that the width of trailers typically is limited by governmental regulations, there is a need for connecting posts having reduced cross-sectional profiles, so as to allow for an increased interior space. However, in the known connecting post constructions, there generally is a trade-off between cross-sectional area and performance. There is also a need for a relatively lighter connecting post having better performance characteristics, such as improved bending and torsional properties.
One form of known connecting post is an insert-type post, having a logistic insert and a post body. The logistic insert includes apertures so as to receive various forms of logistic mounting devices. In a typical known construction, the insert is attached to the post body as the middle layer in a three layer construction formed by a plate, the insert and the post body, all joined by rivets. In this known construction, the insert often is formed of steel and the post body of aluminum. This suffers numerous disadvantages, including difficulty and expense of assembly in forming the three layer construction as well as differing rates of thermal expansion of the aluminum and steel components. Fastening the insert to the post body can result in distortions during temperature changes. A further disadvantage of the known three-layer construction is increased width, thereby reducing the interior space of the container.
Cargo containers also are known to be constructed with a wedge-shaped side profile--having a greater height in the rear than in the front of the trailer. This is commonly achieved by using side panels of varying heights (longitudinal dimensions), i.e. the panels used in the front are shorter than those used in the middle, which are in turn shorter than those used in the rear. In this known trailer, a top rail joins the roof of the trailer to the respective side walls at the left and right sides. The top rail slopes from a relatively higher level at the front to a lower level at the rear. In another known trailer, the bottom floor is sloped, leaving the roof at a uniform height.